series 60 bad starter?

The Lucas isn’t helping. It will definitely make it harder to crank. Sounds like your battery connections could use cleaning or tightening up. For now, make sure terminals are tight. Hook up good jumper cables, if using a car, wait at least 20 minutes, start it up. If it cranks a little better, but not enough to start. Charge it up again, for another 20 minutes or more, and use a good shot of ether.

 

I'd make sure your cables aren't dropping a bunch of voltage, shorted, ect. Especially on the starter side - its easy enough to pull a battery box cover and clean it up, but nobody ever willingly wants to reach down in the frame rail. Check the cables aren't rubbed anywhere as well. To change the starter you have to unhook them anyway, might as well check it with your meter while it's off, right?

Try barring engine over by hand. If its a total bear to bar over, then its that much harder on your starter. Remember, more mechanical resistance = more amps.

Just a thought

 

Shouldn’t get hot enough to smoke, as long as you don’t crank it more than 15 seconds. Might have a shorted battery. I doubt it, probably just too cold. 1 gal of Lucas really makes it tough. 2 gal. Almost impossible. Are check engine dash lights coming on ( test mode) with key in on position? If not small ecm fuse near battery may be blown. May have a bad ground to frame also. causing slow cranking.Bad ground or blown ecm fuse will also cause no power to ecm and Dash lights to not come on with key in on position. Watch for this, as getting cables hot might blow the fuse. Otherwise assuming you don’t have access to electricity, a 1800+ watt generator, to plug in block heater, if equipped, or a turbo propane heater, aimed at the engine may be your only choice. You can always change oil. Get rid of Lucas. It’s probably so thick, take forever to drain out. If a generator or heaters not possible,A second set of cables hooked from running vehicle to Truck batteries might give you more starting power. A second vehicle, or another Truck using good heavy duty jumper cables would be best.A lot of cheap cables look new, but don’t work well.Make sure to wait 20-30 minutes before trying to crank, make sure you have good jumper cable connections. Spray plenty ether, right before and while cranking it.If that doesn’t work, charge it up again with both sets, and you could at your own risk, after charging up batteries, leaving one set of cables hooked up, take the second set of cables, hooked to the running vehicle, ground black to frame on Truck or battery, and with the key in on position, hit the starter directly with the second hot cable, while spraying ether. All you need is a few good cranks, plenty of ether.

 

Why?

 

Its junk.